What Happened To The MCU’s Mordo After Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange returns in Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness to find a familiar face in Baron Mordo from another universe, but what has become of Mordo in the original MCU? Stephen Strange and America Chavez travel from the Earth-616 universe (the main MCU) to the Earth-838 universe, attempting to escape the clutches of the Scarlet Witch. In this timeline, the two come across its current resident Sorcerer Supreme, Baron Karl Mordo. While in the Illuminati’s confinement, Strange provokes Mordo-838 by appealing to the jealousy and hatred Mordo-616 has for Strange. The relationship dynamics between Mordo-838 and Strange-838 remain unclear. However, Mordo-838 does say that he is beginning to understand why Mordo-616 does not like Doctor Strange.

In the first Doctor Strange, Mordo and Strange’s relationship began to strain after Mordo learned about how Doctor Strange‘s the Ancient One used the Dark Arts in her magic. To make matters worse, Mordo disapproved of Stephen Strange’s manipulation of time and violating the natural order, even if he was saving the world from Dormammu. As a result, Mordo chose another path away from what he learned in Kamar-Taj. Mordo’s new motivation was to decrease the number of sorcerers in the world by stealing their magic power. Unfortunately, viewers hadn’t seen nor heard about Mordo-616 since his debut. Questions remained regarding what Mordo has been up to since.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes a quick reference to Mordo-616 when Stephen Strange says that Baron Mordo has dedicated his life to killing him. The two may have clashed after the events of Doctor Strange or shortly after Avengers: Endgame. However, in a recent interview with Chiwetel Ejiofor, the actor gave insight into Mordo-616’s MCU return and whereabouts. Ejiofor mentioned that Mordo did indeed survive Thanos’ snap from Avengers: Infinity War and that he “was definitely engaged in that time.”

What Earth-616 Mordo Has Been Up To

The easiest presumption about Mordo’s engagement would be that he’s continuing the same quest that started in the post-credit scene of Doctor Strange. More than likely, he’s been hunting down sorcerers around the world and taking their power from them. However, what’s interesting about Baron Mordo is that he isn’t going around stealing magic from any and all sorcerers. Mordo does abide by a code. He believes in a more straightforward use of magic that does not violate the natural order. One could say this code proves Mordo is correct compared to Doctor Strange. For example, Mordo scolded Strange for using the Time Stone, warning that temporal manipulations could cause branches in time, unstable dimensional openings, spatial paradoxes, and more. With Mordo’s point of view taken into account, it’s possible the sorcerers he targets are only those he believes violate natural law.

It is unknown thus far exactly what Mordo-616 has accomplished with his actions. A lot could have transpired after the events of Doctor Strange to date, especially if he wasn’t snapped away. Maybe he’s amassed a lot of power from his victims’ gathered magic. It would appear so far that Mordo’s actions may still be relatively unnoticed as it hasn’t seemed to raise concerns for Doctor Strange or the current Sorcerer Supreme, Wong. For instance, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there does not seem to be any indication of a shortage of sorcerers at Kamar-Taj as it braced for the attack from the Scarlet Witch. Nevertheless, Mordo is still out there in a world where the natural order is in chaos. With an imminent incursion event on the horizon in the MCU, Mordo-616’s return may happen sooner rather than later to ensure that the bill comes due.

Doctor Strange 2 Nearly Killed Off Mordo

All of this evidence points to a possible return of Earth-616 Mordo at some point in the MCU, but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness nearly squashed this possibility by having Wanda kill him early in the film. The scene in question saw a weary and limping Baron Mordo trying to track down Wanda, knowing that she had grown too powerful and consumed by dark magic thanks to Doctor Strange 2‘s Darkhold. Given Mordo’s code, it makes perfect sense why he’d want to shut Wanda down. However, Scarlet Witch easily dispatched Mordo in this scene by having him cut off his own head, which she would have presented to Doctor Strange later in the film. This would have been a very chilling way to kick off Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but it’s a good thing the scene wound up on the cutting room floor, as it means Baron Mordo can still return in the future and rekindle his animosity with Stephen Strange.